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Experimental Characterization of Shape of an Aggregate by a Numerical Value—Application to Senegalese Basaltic Aggregates for Rail Transport

This article first talks about railways in general and ballast in particular. An
inventory is then made on the modernization of the Senegalese ballast railways.
In the second phase, an experimental work of characterization of basaltic
aggregates of Diack (Locality of Ngoundiane, Thiès region, Senegal) is
presented. The grain size studied is 25/50 mm as for any material studied for
use as railway ballast. Experimental work presented consists of the characterization
of the shape of an aggregate using the NF P 18-301 standard. The
test consists of comparing the volume of the aggregate to that of an equivalent
sphere with the largest diameter of the aggregate, by calculating the average
volume coefficient. With a Representative Elementary Volume (REV) of 6
aggregates, the volume coefficient “Cv” fluctuates between 0.27 and 0.49 with
an average volume coefficient of 0.39 which is well above 0.15. The grains
studied are polyhedral and therefore have a high mechanical resistance.